As I work my way through Suzanne Humphries’ fascinating history of infectious disease, Dissolving Illusions, I’ve gained a much better appreciation for just how horrific these diseases had been for all of society. Everyone lived in fear of a great many infections that could appear at any moment, and, when infected, they couldn’t do much more than pray. The medical profession in the 1800’s was little more than quackery dressed up in respectable drapery, and the doctors often did far more harm than good. One such horror was ‘puerperal fever’. This infection killed many new mothers who had just given birth, with the primary cause being the filthy hands of the male midwives. Traditionally, midwives had always been female, but the medical professionals saw a lucrative opportunity and pushed their way into the market. The “male midwife” had arrived, and with him the fool’s notion that one doesn’t need to wash his hands or instruments before assisting patients. Humphries points to the records of a Paris hospital in the 1700’s, where more than half of the mothers that gave birth died. Thousands of new mothers died as a result of the ignorant arrogance of the medical class of the time
The complete unnecessary tragedy of it all was made apparent when Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis ordered the doctors within his hospital to apply a “chlorinated lyme solution” to their hands before getting anywhere near an expectant mother. The death rate immediately dropped to zero.
Never underestimate human arrogance when deciding whether to grant some class of professions greater power.
